As the youngest contestant on Univision's reality competition show La Banda, the search for the next great Latin boy band, Alan Matheus captured the hearts of coaches and viewers alike with his vocal strength and charm. Now, the 15-year-old singer-songwriter with Venezuelan roots is continuing his musical journey by releasing his first original single.

IMAGE COURTESY ALAN MATHEUS

Last year, Matheus entered La Banda not only with a completely endearing humble shyness, but with a rich musical background as well. "I was about six years old when my parents bought me my first guitar and I started taking lessons," he explained. "I grew up surrounded by music instruments because my dad plays drums and guitar. Also, my uncle Alfredo Matheus is a songwriter and sound engineer. My family plays music regularly. I always wanted to play guitar and sing."

Despite being the youngest participant in the competition, it was this musical background that fortified him to impress coaches Laura Pausini, Alejandro Sanz, and Ricky Martin, the latter of whom identified with Matheus, himself the youngest member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo at the age of 12.

The coaches' strong faith in Alan was evident from the time he performed an on-point rendition of Rixton's "Me and My Broken Heart" during his audition, Martin even stating, "You are La Banda." On working with the Grammy-winning coaches, Matheus told MNGBlog: "It felt really special to be around them and to be told what to improve by them."

One of Alan's favorite memories from the show occurred during the group rounds at the beginning of the competition. He told MNGBlog: "I have several awesome memories from La Banda, but if I had to pick one, it would be singing 'Stay With Me' by Sam Smith (translated to Spanish) with four other band members" (Yoandri Cabrera, Joshua Greaux, Zabdiel De Jesus, and Christopher Vélez). Watch it here.

After being eliminated when the remaining contestants were whittled down to 12 for the live shows, and then being invited back by the judges toreturn in place of Kevin González, fans were ecstatic. Even though it became clear that Alan was much better suited as a solo artist (and boy are we glad that he is continuing to pursue his dream!), he said: "La Banda was an amazing experience and has changed my life tremendously. I met many people and made some great friends. I learned a lot about the music industry."

IMAGE COURTESY ALAN MATHEUS

Season 1 of La Banda ended in December 2015, but just a couple of months later, a few of its former contestants--including Alan, Yoandri Cabrera, Johann Vera, and Micke Moreno--came together for a memorable show in Miami on February 7. "I was very excited to be with my friends again doing what we love to do," Alan said. "It was also very special because I was finally able to sing while playing my guitar which was something I wasn't allowed to do in the show."

Matheus cites his musical influences as Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, as well as Latin pop duo Sin Bandera. Those sounds trickle into his recently released first original single, "That Dream". While the tender lyrics were written by Alan in collaboration with a friend from school, Alan wrote the gentle music himself and plays guitar on the track. "That Dream" is a true family affair, with his father Alejandro joining on bass guitar and cajon, his uncle Alfredo serving as sound engineer and co-producer, and his brother Oliver on piano and synthesizer. Get it now on digital music platforms, including iTunes and Spotify.

IMAGE COURTESY ALAN MATHEUS

Judging by what we've already seen from this young rising star, it's safe to say that Alan will have a solid career ahead of him. MNGBlog can't wait to see what's in store!

Check out what he's listening to right now:

MNGBlog: If you could listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?